Cell sat frozen in a vat of green liquid. It had been… well he didn't exactly know how long it had been since his death at the hands of the young Son Gohan. Time starts to meld together when it becomes meaningless to you. All he knew was that his programming by the late doctor ensured that he had photographic memory, so he could remember every second of his life and afterlife.
In his own personal Hell, Cell was rendered helpless and motionless in a tube akin to the one he gestated in for years. In front of him, he saw the old man working on various projects. Sometimes he worked on the visage of his son, the one who gave Gohan the necessary trigger for his defeat. Other times, he'd work on the twins, adjusting their cells to make sure they can handle larger amounts of power. The rest of the time, he'd just stare into the tank, unblinking eyes due to his cybernetic conversion. It was unnerving, even to a being as perfect as him.
He thought it was like holding food in front of a starving man, just out of reach. With his power, Cell should be able to burst through the glass and absorb his siblings again. Perhaps he'd even attain a new higher form because of it, he thought. A simple glance from his eyes should tear Gero to shreds, leaving not a single atom intact. Yet, there he sat, as if frozen in time. He couldn't even move his head, only his eyes. Being alone with your thoughts for years wrecks havoc upon the mind.
As he had done thousands of times before, Gero approached the tank and placed his hand on it. He gave a grin of malice as he spoke, that agitating voice of his breaking the hums and whirs of the laboratory. "Very soon, you shall become the ultimate being in this universe. These children think they will inherit the earth to do with as they please, but it shall be something truly born of science that will rule the world."
Words like these meant nothing to Cell now. All those promises of being the strongest in the universe had been useless against a half-saiyan child. How could he be perfect if a mere crying child could best him? Hearing this drivel for the millionth-millionth time just furthered his torment in this tube.
His inner thoughts were interrupted as Gero's head was severed by an energy disc. This managed to startle him, not that anyone would notice, since he was frozen in place. A red light began flashing in the lab, sharp sirens serving to warn the doctor's head that there was, in fact, a problem. Through the smoke, Cell managed to make out a form. A bald form… with a tail…
"Ho ho ho ho. So we finally meet, "Cell". I've heard so much about you from the earthlings. I must say, your eternal torment is much more favorable to me than mine." the figure said. As it stepped out into the light, Cell's eyes widened. In front of him stood the dead form of Freeza, one of the involuntary donors involved in his creation. How had he escaped his own torment and breached his? However he did, he couldn't have done it on his own.
"Oh, now I see. You can't move at all in here, at least I was able to move my head in my cocoon. Death truly is a cruel mistress, isn't it?" the demon smirked, clearly enjoying all the superiority he had at the moment. Cell had never personally met the tyrant, neither here nor his native timeline. But with the data programmed inside his biomechanical brain, he knew the emperor took pleasure in even the smallest advantage over others.
"On any other occasion, I'd probably leave you to your eternal suffering. However, you and I, alongside the other denizens of this wretched dimension, have been given an opportunity. It seems the afterlife itself has been broken. Souls like you and I can roam across the universe as we please, at least for now." Freeza slowly placed his fingers on the glass, pressing onto it as it splintered like a web. Cell's pupils began to dilate, sweat managing to form despite the cold liquid he was encased in.
The glass shattered, and finally, after what felt like hundreds of years, Cell moved his muscles. Cracks were heard as he flexed his neck, reveling in every second of his freedom. He opened his eyes and gazed into the emperor's own. While he was far taller than the frost demon, he felt tiny in comparison to the power he could feel from the being. While dulled by the energies present in the afterlife, it was nothing to scoff at. Even Cell knew to bide his time before doing something rash against him.
"So, what's the situation? What's happened to Hell?" he asked, which was paid back with a giggle. "To be honest, I have no idea. One moment, I was stuck in a cocoon, being relentlessly tormented by teddy bears, the next, I was suddenly torn out of it. The same has happened to everyone else, and I presume the ones in Heaven as well. No doubt Goku and his merry band of misfits will be itching to do something about it. I say we form our own little band to meet them on the other side."
For the first time in years, a smile began to form on the bio-android's face. "I'd be happy to see Son Gohan again. Lead the way, Freeza." As the tyrant turned and walked out of the laboratory, Cell glanced down at the doctor's disembodied head, now unmoving. It seemed the power of the prison had faded upon his freedom. He smirked as he crushed it beneath his heel. The ultimate android was back.
So, this is something that's gonna be a big thing once I get around to finishing it. While I like telling Z-Write in a non-linear fashion, I wanna do some arcs to build upon multiple chapters. Will they be sequential? Or will they be at random? Who knows, I don't!